“OK, so for the sake of discussion, let's say that the flight is a thousand bucks each.”

You and your boyfriend want to go on an overseas trip together. You're debating whether you can afford it. You don't agree on how much plane tickets will cost, but you want to continue to talk about the other expenses. You say:

OK, so for the sake of discussion, let's say that the flight is a thousand bucks each.

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“All baggage must be stowed in the overhead container.”

You've just boarded an airplane. Everyone is now on the plane, but people are still putting away their bags and other things. The flight attendant says:

All baggage must be stowed in the overhead container.

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“Seat backs and tray tables must be placed in their upright and locked positions.”

You're on an airplane that is about to land soon. The flight attendant is making announcements. She says:

Seat backs and tray tables must be placed in their upright and locked positions.

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“Excuse me. Can I slide past you?”

You're sitting in the window seat in coach on an airplane. You need to go to the restroom, but the person sitting next to you is taking up too much space and you can't get out. You say to him:

Excuse me. Can I slide past you?

Excuse me

This is what you say to strangers to get their attention: 

Excuse me, we're taking up donations for the Haiti Relief Fund. Do you have a moment?

Excuse me. Would you mind watching over my stuff for me for just a minute?

The "e" at the beginning is unstressed, so sometimes it sounds like "Scuze me"

Can I slide past you?

This is a polite question to ask when you need to get into a place that's being blocked by someone's body. Some other examples of situations that you can use this in are:

• when you're walking through a crowd of people.
• when you need to walk past people sitting in your row to get to your seat in a theater.

"Can I slide past you?" is a friendly way to ask this. It sounds friendly because the word "slide" sounds so smooth and easy. It's like you're saying, "Can I go past you quietly and without bothering you much?"

If you're more annoyed or if you're a loud and aggressive person, you can ask like this:

Can I get by?

“This guy is taking up the whole armrest!”

You're on an airplane, sitting next to a stranger. He's big. His arm is on the armrest between you. You think to yourself:

This guy is taking up the whole armrest!

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“Although, on the other hand, you might be better off waiting until the last minute.”

Your sister is going to come visit you but hasn't bought her airplane tickets yet. She wants to get the cheapest tickets possible. You just advised her that she ought to go ahead and book her flight soon. But now you're remembering that there are also good deals on plane tickets in the last few days before the flight. You say:

Although, on the other hand, you might be better off waiting until the last minute.

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“You ought to go ahead and book it soon.”

Your younger sister is coming to visit you. She hasn't bought her plane tickets yet, and she's waiting to get the best price. You think it's cheaper to buy your tickets early, so you advise her:

You ought to go ahead and book it soon.

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